Headrests



Oct. 4, 1955 F. EYMAN 2,719,577

HEADRESTS Filed Aug. 31, 1951 INVENTOR lg. 5'-

A? d 2 BY 4g/7% ATTORNEY 2,719,577 nnAnnns'rs' Frederick Eyman,Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application August 31, 1951, Serial No. 244,515

2 Claims. (Cl. 155--174) My invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in headrests and, more particularly, to a headrest that isto be used by people travelling on buses or railroad coaches, especiallyat night where the traveller has to sit up straight or lean back in areclining chair.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a relativelysmall headrest that is in no way connected to the seat or chair but, onthe other hand, is simply placed in back of the head of the travellerand bears on the back of the chair, to thus keep the head in acomfortable position and prevent it from even jarring or rolling fromside to side when the traveller is asleep.

Another object of the invention is to provide a small headrest that maybe collapsed or folded so that it will take up but little room in thetraveller's suitcase or bag when the headrest is not in use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a small, portableheadrest, comprising two adjacent angularly positioned pads which mayhave cushions of foam rubber or other resilient material therein, overwhich will be a small leather or imitation leather covering, so as toprovide a smooth surface for the head, and also prevent wear of therubber pad.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a small headrestwhere the back portion against the back of the chair is roughened andlies practically within the same vertical plane throughout its width, sothat the weight of the head against the headrest will provide arelatively large frictional surface, to thus keep the headrest inposition when it is in use.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnew and novel arrangements and combinations of parts, as will behereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In my headrest I employ a supporting means made from relatively stiffnon-bendable material. On the front surface of this supporting means Iplace two back members complementary to each other. Each of these backmembers has its front face disposed angularly relative to the frontsurface of the supporting means.

Referring now to the drawings, showing a preferred and one modifiedform,

Fig. 1 is a front view of my improved headrest,

Fig. 2 is a rear view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same,

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the headrest,

Fig. 5 is a view of the headrest in its collapsed position for carrying.

Referring now more particularly to the preferred form, there is shownthe headrest 1, having two similar pads or back members 2 and 3. Thesepads 2 and 3 are complementary to each other and similar, so adescription of one is a description of the other.

Referring to Fig. 4, for the moment, it will be seen that the pad 2consists of a rigid back portion 4, which may be made of wood orplastic, and which has a slightly cupped or arcuate front face 5throughout its width. Glued or otherwise secured to the face of thisback por- United States Patent 2,719,577 Patented Oct. 4, 1955 2 tion 4is a facing 'of soft rubber 6, over which is glued a leather covering).facing of soft rubber '6 "and the leather covering 7 form a cushion onthe pad 2.

The other pad 3 is made in an identical manner, but is set at an angleto the pad 2, as may be seen in the several views.

Now, referring to Figs. 3 and 4 for the moment, there will be seen aback plate or supporting means 8, which is hinged as at 9 to a similarbackv plate 10;, and, :here again, a description of the one is adescription of the other.

This plate 8 has a roughened rear surface 11, as may be seen in Fig. 2,to provide a non-slipping contact with the back of a chair (not shown).This plate 8 may be made of wood, metal, or plastic, or other desirablematerial; and its lower end 12 extends inwardly to centrally of the twopads 2 and 3; and then the plates 8 and 10 are hinged to each other bythe aforementioned hinge 9.

The pad 2 is hinged to the back plate 8 by the hinge 13, and the pad 3has a similar hinge 14 hinging it to the back plate 10. Also hinged tothe inner face of the back plate 8 is the brace 15 by the hinge 16, sothat this brace 15 may be swung upwardly, as shown by the dotted linesin Fig. 3, and also as shown in the collapsed position of the headrest,as shown in Fig. 5.

In like manner, the pad 3 has the brace 17 that is hinged as at 18 tothe inner face of the back plate 10.

In Fig. 5, I have shown the headrest in its collapsed position; and thisis the way it will be carried in the suit-case or bag of the owner.

To open the headrest, it is simply necessary to pull the pads 2 and 3from their hinged position, so that they will appear as in Fig. 1; andthen the braces 15 and 17 will be pushed downwardly into the position asshown in Figs. 3 and 4, so that the weight of the head can not forcethem back from their set position. The headrest is then placed right atthe base of the head and the user leans back, so that the pressure ofthe head will bear against the pads 2 and 3 and against the back'plates8 and 10; and the roughened surface 11 contacting with the back of thechair will prevent the headrest 1 from slipping or moving. The head willthen be held in a comfortable position, and, if the user sleeps, theheadrest will prevent his head from sagging from side to side.

It will be seen that the headrest can be folded to occupy but littlespace in the suit-case or bag of the owner; and when the braces 15 and17 are in their folded position and the pads 2 and 3 folded back, thesmall headrest will not be over two inches in height (Fig. 5) andseveral inches in width and length.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a headrest thatis relatively simple in construction, of few parts, relatively cheap tomanufacture, and may be either collapsed or dis-assembled to occupy butlittle space, and at the same time, will enhance the rest of the user.

Many slight changes might be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patents is:

1. A portable headrest comprising supporting means made from relativelystiff non-bendable plate material and hinged centrally thereof, saidsupporting means having its rear surface roughened, two back membersbeing complementary to each other and being disposed in spacedrelationship to each other on the front surface of said supportingmeans, each of said back members having pivoted means adapted to supportsaid back members angularly relative to the front surface of saidsupporting means.

2. A portable headrest comprising supporting means made from relativelystiif non-bendable plate material and hinged centrally thereof, two backmembers being complementary to each other and being disposed in 'means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS490,090 Watkins Jan. 17, 1893 4 4 Leahy Sept. 7, 1909 Weber Dec. 20,1921 Ireland Dec. 23, 1941 Pulsifer June 5, 1951 Morecraft Feb. 26, 1952Smith Mar. 11, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Oct. 5, 1922 GreatBritain Oct. 22, 1934

